


ready, set, fall

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Everybody Loves Mark, M/M, Mark Centric, No Dialogue, Platonic Romance, Romance, just like every NCT song jk I love him pls, lowkey a feels train
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 00:18:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: At the center of it all, ofthemall, was a boy named Mark.





	ready, set, fall

**Author's Note:**

> I spent the past week or so with major major major NCT Dream feels, but even more so for Mark, who steadily climbed my NCT bias list the more I got to know the group. How can you not love such a pure and amazing boy? Which then made me think that you can't, and especially not NCT Dream, and paired together with Dream Show and A LOT MORE FEELS... this little thing was born. It's Mark Lee x the other NCT Dream members. I wasn't sure, but I did some members more platonically than the rest, hence the tag.
> 
> Also, I've been a solid Markmin enthusiast ever since Mickey Mouse Club days, but even I have to admit The Bond between Markhyuck is something else, so I may have went on a roll with Donghyuck's part so he's last. There's still a pretty big bias towards Jaemin though since I couldn't resist.
> 
> This made me soft even while I was writing it. Hope you enjoy!

Park Jisung just didn’t _do_ feelings, okay? 

 

Well, that was what a boy his age wanted everybody else to believe, anyway.He was perpetually torn between allowing others inside his circle of emotions and desperately trying to keep them out. He was the youngest, after all; while Jisung knew the older members didn’t exactly mean to baby him so much, it was also hard not to do so since they practically watched him grow up since he walked on tiny feet. 

 

There were a few things he was glad about, though. His height would be one of them, since he already towered over the rest of NCT Dream and soon, he was expected to be one of the tallest. He also already grew into his deep voice and rather large hands. Basically, he was beginning to appear much older than he was and older than even those older than him. If anything, Jisung was excited to just keep growing.

 

Then, there was Mark.

 

He didn’t mean that negatively—Jisung’s pretty certain there were very few negative things that can be said about the older boy—but he also wasn’t sure if it was a happy discovery. Around Mark, Jisung just couldn’t help but feel so _young_ all the time. Granted, Mark was the eldest in their NCT unit, but he wasn’t the eldest overall. Mark himself had been the youngest in a group before, but around him, Jisung just felt _different._

 

He has yet to truly decide if it was a good different or not.

 

Overall, he just felt like a kid all over again, but Jisung didn’t feel _that_ strongly against it.

 

If he had to admit, which he never will, he might even say he liked being around Mark more than the rest. Mark, who was always there as a shoulder to lean on and even to cry on—again, not something Jisung’s proud of but something he didn’t exactly hide either—and someone who in time just grew to become someone Jisung wanted to be, in all aspects of life. There was even a point in his life where Jisung, despite his young age, figured he probably liked Mark more than he should.

 

Sometimes, thoughts like that still drift into his mind when he least expects it, but he’s quick to get rid of them now.

 

Despite the times he’s cried in front of the others, Jisung was still adamant about how he wasn’t emotional. Really, he’s not. He knew how to keep such feelings in check, knew when to push down the urge to cry, and also knew when to ignore the flutter in his heart whenever Mark would pat his head and say that he did a good job. He’s done that last thing way too many times that he must be an expert at it by now.

 

Still, sometimes, Jisung would allow himself to naturally navigate towards Mark at the end of practice, head tucked down in an attempt to be smaller than he actually was. He would gratefully accept the way his hear would end up messed up and the sound of Mark’s laugh that always followed, leaving Jisung with a swell in his chest that would take a while to go down. During the moments where his eyes were blurry with tears, legs unable to move, he knew the first pair of arms that would wrap around him would belong to nobody else. 

 

 

 

Zhong Chenle had a lot of favourites.

 

That went with the fact that Chenle received and had a lot of things in general, along with his overall enjoyment of life, that made him easily label anything as his favourite. Why not live and enjoy life, right? He had favourite songs, favourite movies, favourite days of the week, a favourite hat, and when asked, multiple favourite NCT members since it was hard to choose from a group so nice to him.

 

His classic answer would be Renjun; the favourite that anybody could tell from the way they bonded. Great help with translating, someone he could relate to in NCT Dream, all of which were true. The others would also speculate Lucas at times, or maybe even Jaehyun, but another given would be Mark since he was Dream’s dependable eldest after all. No matter how much Chenle joked around with the older boy, Mark took everything with ease. 

 

If Chenle had to choose just one favourite, he would say it was Mark, with no hesitation.

 

(Renjun would fake being offended, but he understood it just as much as everybody else did.)

 

Honestly, the younger boy didn’t have an exact explanation for _why_ it was Mark. It was something that changed every now and then; sometimes, it was because Mark was such a good sport. Other days, it was because Mark was fun to be with and played with him more than the rest, in a way that Chenle found comfort in even without knowing he needed the comfort. There were also days where Mark just takes control in his own, calm manner, and Chenle would be left in awe.

 

He was, however, sure that his answer was Mark. 

 

There were a lot of things about Mark that Chenle could easily claim to be his favourite thing about the older boy, too, but that also meant going on and on about him. As much as Chenle was notorious for being loud and noisy half the time, there were some things he liked keeping for himself. The small moments he noticed, the parts of Mark he liked, even the rare ones that he found himself disliking, Chenle kept them all listed down in his head. It felt like a secret, sometimes, even if his choice was one he shared often.

 

(Sometimes he wondered if that was why his head was that size; must have been filled with too much of Mark, and sure, the rest of the members were quite the number too.)

 

 

 

Na Jaemin has been in love with Mark since he was fourteen.

 

At least, he was pretty sure there was no other way to describe just how much he enjoyed being around the older boy. Along the way, he figured he was just the type with too much love to give, since he eventually shared the love to pretty much every other member. Still, Jaemin would easily admit that he loved Mark the most, since it was something that just came so _easily_ to him, almost like it was what he was meant to do all his life. He doesn’t think it would be hard at all.

 

The thing with Jaemin was that he was hardly shy about it.

 

He was notoriously clingy and overly sweet even without trying, everybody knew that. Jaemin himself _liked_ that everybody knew he was like that, too. Most of all, he liked how much Mark wouldn’t complain whenever Jaemin would lean in too close or even, when he felt particularly braver, ask for a kiss on the cheek. Mark took everything with a smile on his face that Jaemin would return tenfold. 

 

There was a period in his life where Jaemin liked to imagine that Mark felt the same butterflies he did. The older boy never said no to Jaemin; something even the other members picked up on and something Jaemin positively revelled in whenever it was brought up. Sometimes, Mark would even bring it up himself, claiming that Jaemin was too cute of a kid despite being only one year younger. Eventually, as he grew older, Jaemin saw his feelings for what they were.

 

It was love, yeah, but not in that way.

 

Sure, he’ll always be a little bit biased towards Mark, but a majority of his hopeless romantic feelings dwindled into just straight up admiring the older boy. Mark has always been the star trainee, the one to beat, and despite Jaemin’s carefree persona, the younger boy was the same as everybody else; he wanted to give his best and be the best. Despite clearly being the set standard, Mark had never been boastful about it.

 

Jaemin liked that about him the most.

 

He was also pretty sure that Mark also had a lot of love to give, but just not in the same way. What Jaemin would easily show in hugs and kisses, Mark showed in the way he would treat the younger members. It showed in how the older boy would sit through all the other members’ recording sessions, complimenting them yet also telling them what they lacked when needed. It was the way Mark didn’t exactly give them sweet nicknames like Jaemin did, but the times he would lightly pinch someone’s cheek when they were being cute.

 

Soft and subtle, if Jaemin had to describe it. Just the way he preferred Mark to be.

 

 

 

Lee Jeno could hide a lot of things behind that smile of his.

 

Actually, he was pretty sure that was something he did even without really meaning to at times. It wasn’t like he wasn’t open to the other members, or even just to himself; it’s just that he knew that some situations just called for a smile. He firmly believed it was better to smile in a situation rather than show any negativity. It helped that his smile was naturally bright and infectious, too, so really Jeno was pretty much a master at it.

 

He could fool anybody except Mark, though.

 

Granted, it was hard to pretend around most of the members. Jaemin could also just as easily sniff his way through one of Jeno’s smiles, but that was also because Jaemin was too observant for his own good. The thing that made Mark stand out, at least in Jeno’s opinion, would be the way Mark went about it. He never straight up pointed out that _hey, your smile seems off_ or even a more blatant _you don’t have to fake your smile._

 

Instead, Mark would just _be_ there. 

 

Something Jeno didn’t realize helped more than he thought it would, too.

 

The older boy would sneak his way towards Jeno, an arm around his shoulder, a reassuring squeeze here and there. Almost instantly, Jeno would find himself meaning his smile more and more when he was in Mark’s presence. It was like an instant calming effect that he, honestly, couldn’t find much explanation to; eventually, he stopped trying to figure out the deeper meaning behind things and just figured it was because Jeno liked being around Mark in general.

 

(Whenever his thoughts would drift towards liking _Mark_ himself, Jeno would find something to distract him.)

 

All that aside, Jeno was a boy who had too many worries behind his bright smile. He wondered often whether he was doing too much or too little, about the right words to say and the right things to do. He’s always been more on the shy side more than anything else, but he did appreciate the members who brought out his noisier side. That was a given whenever he was with Donghyuck or even Renjun. It was with Mark that he found that he could be silent in peace, though.

 

Sometimes, that was all he needed.

 

It was comfortable, being with Mark. Even if sometimes his heart refused to cooperate.

 

 

 

Huang Renjun liked to claim he was bad with affection.

 

In a way, he was, but all that was a front that anybody could easily knock out the window. Behind each savage word was a careful touch, behind each diss were millions of emotions running through him, behind each stoic expression was the way he cried easily at anything. Renjun cared a lot, maybe even too much sometimes, and that was something he can never truly hide even if he tried. Sometimes, he didn’t think he has to hide it at all.

 

That was exactly why he never hid what he felt for Mark.

 

Because yes, he shied away from showing too much affection most of the time, but on the flip side Renjun was very open about how much he liked taking care of Mark. It was something oddly innate about him; the urge to just take care of others, especially those who didn’t seem to be doing a good job taking care of themselves. With Mark, it was practically a given that the older boy took good care of his younger members.

 

Himself, though?

 

That was debatable.

 

Mark practiced till the wee hours of the morning on a good day; on a bad day, that meant nobody would ever see him surface from the training room. The members who were older than him—Taeyong and Doyoung, most of the time—knew that they had to bring him food and water now and then. They would leave it by the door with a gentle reminder that Mark should take a break soon, knowing he would listen eventually.

 

It just so happened that Renjun preferred the more direct approach that consisted of literally manhandling Mark out of the training room sometimes, sitting him down, and watching him eat until the younger boy was satisfied. _Maybe_ it was a little out of a place, a little too much, but Mark always took Renjun’s intrusion as a good thing instead, so the Chinese boy just kept doing it. Someone was going to have to take care of Mark, after all.

 

 

 

Lee Donghyuck was doomed from the very beginning.

 

He knew that very well, ever since that day the boy with round glasses entered the training room, eyes bright and far too happy. Donghyuck liked that sort of energy, but that didn’t mean he completely liked Mark, especially not back then. They were young, yeah, but that didn’t mean the company made things easier for them. It was still cutthroat competition, and young Donghyuck liked the spotlight too much to share.

 

Still, he knew it would be hard to stay away forever.

 

Especially because Mark was literally glued to him. The two went everywhere together, did everything together, ate everything together; anything that was in Donghyuck’s schedule included Mark. At some point, he realized he _had_ to like Mark if he wanted to have a peaceful life. Once he realized that, the actual process of liking Mark had never really been that hard. Not at all.

 

In fact, it was probably the easiest thing Donghyuck had to do.

 

Which, naturally, meant he fought that feeling with every fiber of his being.

 

If their relationship was ever going to be described in just a word, then the word would be _difficult._ Donghyuck knew he was the one who made it so, but there were some moments where Mark would also get riled up, his patient and perfect demeanour cracking. Sometimes, the older boy would snap, and Donghyuck would have a few minutes of glory that he managed to cause that before that feeling would quickly be replaced by guilt.

 

At some point, Donghyuck desperately wanted Mark to just stay mad at him. It was silly, petty and childish if anything, but it felt easier than facing the truth. Somewhere along the way, Mark was the biggest competition in Donghyuck’s eyes yet also his greatest friend, his only partner, his best help in times of need. That was scarier than anything, really, the fact that he depended on someone so much. 

 

Mark made it less scary.

 

He made things better even without really trying. He would see past the way Donghyuck was exaggerate being mad and offer the younger boy half of his burger. He would listen whenever Donghyuck wanted to rant about anything and everything. He would be there with him, sharing every toil and trouble they could from such a young age. Mark was always, and would always, be there.

 

That didn’t make falling in love with him any easier.

 

If Donghyuck _wasn’t_ Donghyuck, then sure, it would have been simple. 

 

He could have easily went up to the older boy, confessed, and the two would have been happy and sappy from the beginning. The thing was, he was very much Donghyuck, which meant everything was suddenly dramatic. He would overthink and overanalyze every little thing, driving both himself and his friends mad. Everybody could tell Mark felt the same way, they said. Only Donghyuck was being weird about things, they said.

 

One day, maybe he’ll own up to his feelings.

 

Until that day, Donghyuck was content with what he got, because even just a little bit of Mark went a long way. They were still together in the boy’s every waking moment, from leaving the dorms to heading back, from random shows with NCT Dream to rushing to NCT 127’s next one. Donghyuck always had Mark by his side, and even he worried a lot, he knew that wouldn’t change.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I say I went on a roll with Donghyuck but it's the same word count as Jisung's so ??
> 
> If you like my work and would like to support me, please consider buying me coffee! https://ko-fi.com/stilljunhui


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